This micro-house can stand up to bad weather

Beth Buczynski EarthTechling, 17th June 2013

I love tiny houses, and hope to live in one of my own someday. But with all the talk of tornadoes and derecho storms that’s been going on lately, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to live in one during nasty weather. No one wants to look out their bedroom window into the eye of the twister like poor Dorothy and Toto.

Apparently, I’m not the only micro house enthusiast to worry about stability. Designer Aaron Maret recently debuted a gorgeous portable house design that’s built with severe weather in mind. A labor of love (that’s now for sale), this Pocket Shelter might just be the perfect place to wait out a storm.

Throughout the entire design and building process, Maret was focused on keeping the Pocket Shelter as low impact as possible. As he mentioned to Gizmag, finding 100 square feet of reclaimed flooring or other salvaged materials is much easier than 1,200. Another reason micro homes are full of win.

The home’s trailer base, frame and a colorful rustic exterior all constructed from local and upcycled hardwoods. Glass doors and plenty of windows allow the Pocket Shelter to benefit from lots of natural light. The tiny-yet-comfortable interior boasts built-in storage cabinetry, an elevated loft for sleeping, salvaged pine flooring, a custom kitchenette with 2-burner gas cooktop, sliding glass pass-through door and a bathroom with a mini built-in composting toilet.

All of that plus full insulation gives this tiny house an impressive weight of around 6 tons “…If it does end up in a tornado- or hurricane-prone area, it could be anchored to the earth with hardware used on mobile homes, and I’m confident it could withstand even severe weather,” Maret told Gizmag.

“Learning how to build this small is a challenge,” writes Maret on his website, where you can find lots of great pictures of the Pocket Shelter. “But it’s child’s play compared to learning how to live small. It took every bit as long to pair down enough to fit reasonably into such a small space as it did to build it. Going through round after round of downsizing, purging, and otherwise shedding whatever is unnecessary took determination and mental and emotional stamina. And it’s been totally worth it. Having only what’s essential (by relatively affluent western standards) frees up a lot of clutter, expense, maintenance and energetic baggage.”

Longing to experience this kind of freedom? Maret is looking to sell the fully-functional Pocket Shelter for $64,000.